In thinking about what I’ve read in the first principle of The Way of the SEAL, as well as what I’ve completed in the self-discovery exercise, this is my first draft of my stand:

  • When it comes to matters of the head versus the heart, trust my instinct.
  • Be myself - unapologetically.
  • Live life with an open mind. Seek inspiration from even the littlest things.
  • Every decision impacts not only me but those around me. Make the right decision to make this a better place.
  • Command - not demand - respect, honesty, and trust.
  • Constructive criticism - not just that something sucks but why and how to improve it - goes a long way.
  • Rather than lead from an ivory tower or a pulpit, lead from the trenches. Be the servant leader that I know I am.
  • Make this world a better place by using my God-given talents to better serve the good of mankind.
  • Self-happiness is driven by life experiences, not material things. It is driven by love, passion, an insatiable curiosity for life.

Sources of Motivation & Inspiration

As time has gone on in my life, I have found a variety of sources of motivation and inspiration that encourage this stand.

After a hard day at work many years ago, I came home to find that my husband found a recording of Maya Angelou reading her poem “Phenomenal Woman”. He said that this poem reminded him of me. This poem comes to mind when I have a “me” moment, unapologetically.


In terms of servant leadership, the book I refer to is Leading from the Heart by Jack Kahl. He took a lot of inspiration from his friend Sam Walton. I come from a bloodline of servant leaders, and being as in tune with myself as I am, I respect my familial servant leaders and have learned a ton from them. (And for those wondering details - yes, the very successful servant leaders in my family are male. No, I didn’t let the gender differences concern me. There’s a reason why I am where I am today.)

This was a quote that I first saw in the mid-2000s, when I inherited a friend’s database administration duties and saw the quote (sometimes attributed to Mark Twain, but source unknown) on her desk. It inspired me to pursue development professionally, and eventually it inspired me to become an independent contractor. It is constantly running in the back of my mind, and I use it to inspire my apprentices as they go forth in the world:

Another quote that I like is from Fred Rogers - It’s good to be curious about many things. Mr. Rogers has been a source of inspiration for me in many ways, and I’ll cover him more in a future blog post. This video really captures his statement on being curious about many things:

Along the lines of curiosity, there’s a video set to be released Spring 2016 about another source of inspiration for me - Grace Murray Hopper. What I love most about this is that the video is titled Born with Curiosity:

You’ll hear more about Fred Rogers and Grace Murray Hopper in an upcoming blog post, when I talk more about how they’ve inspired me.